“I could hear him in a stern but vulnerable voice say, ‘no, no’,” next door neighbour Ryan Callaghan said.

A woman’s screams followed.

“I heard everything happen [but] I didn’t know at the time that he had been killed.”

Police and emergency services were called to the home on Edgeworth Street about 1am Sunday.

Officers found the resident with a number of wounds and tried to revive him.

Paramedics arrived soon after but he died at the scene.

A short time later, as officers were examining the scene, a vehicle driving past lost control and rolled into the established crime scene.

Police located a 50-year-old man inside the car with multiple wounds. 

He was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition and underwent an operation on March 2.

The two incidents are linked and the man is helping police with their inquiries.

Mr Callaghan was painting his house late on Saturday night when the stabbing happened.

He heard loud voices and his neighbour’s pleas.

“The woman was screaming,” Mr Callaghan said.

“She came running out between our houses – she was hysterical.”

When police arrived Mr Callaghan took some photos of the scene.

“I was maybe five or six metres away and I could see him laying there dead,” he said. “He was a good bloke.

“He would always ‘hello’ or ‘how’s it going’.”

Police have urged anyone with information in relation to this ­incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers website  at https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/